So, I'll forego the usual first-post intro because this is the third attempt I've made at starting a blog and I'm fairly certain no one has read any previous attempts, so I'll assume that no one will probably see any of these either. I was inspired to start this third attempt after a conversation I had with an old friend last night, in which we had a great deal of in-depth discussion on the state of the world, an idealized improvement, and socio-cultural traditions of past. And, in the end of it all, I have to ask "where have all the good men gone?". This is, of course, to assume that good men in fact did once exist, which I prefer to believe they did. I'm not really sure where this is going, but I guess I just want to say that I am a little disappointed at the moral fabric of our society at the moment. Where did chivalry go (and no, I don't assume chivalry to be a force working against woman's rights but rather the general respect that men used to have for the opposite sex)? Where did fraternity go (and no, I don't consider the media's version of beer-pong frat boys as an acceptable "new" version of fraternity, but rather the genuine brotherhood that used to be a common occurrence that established bonds of trust and love between men)? Why is individualized success at the failure of others considered a positive and motivational force within our society? Or better yet, I think we've gotten to the point where it is not even the success of the individual that’s important anymore, but rather the sheer image of success of the individual as recognized by the "society" to which the individual really doesn't even belong because individualized success stems from a projected image that the individual does not need the society any longer, or is perhaps above the rest of the populous. The current green movement in our society is a perfect example since it seems that, despite global environmental change companies are only changing the bare minimum in their industries so they can legally present themselves as "green" and supposedly helping the cause, when in reality the bottom line focus has always been the financial/economic profit margin. Doesn't it seem a little strange that we, the only species on the planet that has the ability to reason, allows our species to live and die by a cultural invention involving the trade of a paper product? I will be the first the admit that the industrial revolution and free trade competition has given us many things, many of which I am thankful for and many of which I take for granted daily and would probably be very lost without. But at this point in history shouldn't we at least consider the possibility that maybe bigger and better is not always the way to go? Globalization has caused millions of jobs to be lost in the name of efficiency and profit and yet we turn our heads at the millions now without jobs and call it progress. What would happen if we scaled back and relocalized, creating millions of jobs again and kept money in a localized economy where money wasn't constantly being shipped to another country, and actually benefited American business? Things would cost a little more, admittedly, but more jobs would available and more money could be made by Americans. It’s the way we solved the Great Depression: we created more jobs. And in regards to the more expensive local product cost, I would argue that we have so much shit already that we have already lost the ability to appreciate the things we already have available. For example, last night my friend and I talked about a set of WWII period diaries that had been recovered and how they operated as a sort of sociological incite to a previous generation. The reason that story is relevant because it talked about the diaries and the authors set of hand tools that were also present on the table in which the books were found, and their importance to the family; the heirlooms to be passed down to the next generation. The objects were a matter of pride for this family and they meant something to them, where now and days these objects... these tools of creation... are common place and created so cheaply that you can put together a small set at the local dollar store for under $10. Is this really a good thing? Were so concerned about the dollar that we specifically design objects to fail at a certain point so people have to buy them again, to waste money and finite resources, all to encourage the trade of paper which furthers the divide between the rich and the poor and has caused a severe sociological shift that has led to a society that no longer cares about the quality of its tools or craftsmanship. We're a throw away culture and I believe this is now showing through us as a people as well. A lack of care for anything more than ourselves and the trade of paper. And another interesting concept that we discussed last night was the concept of the individual, and how we don't even do that well anymore. The native cultures had a wonderful structure where families were devoted to showing their children the way to become individuals who focused on growth and personal development, yet always maintaining an appreciation for the group, the society through which otherwise their species could not survive. Instead, today, we support this idea of the individual without the notion that we should promote personal development... we just want people, and preferably dumb people, that can be manipulated and controlled by other individuals for their success (or perception of success as discussed earlier in this post). And this is a particularly terrifying concept when we consider the fact that, in this, the world’s most apparently successful democracy, each person has an equal say in the power and decisions (which should be called into question as well since, as elections have shown, the popular vote is not always the deciding factor in our democracy). Anyway... as mentioned before I am not really sure where all this is going but in this time of apparent "Change" maybe we could begin looking back at ourselves, taking stock of what we started as and where have come, and decide what is really important to the only species on the planet that has the ability to reason and create a culture whose every decision radically impacts the world, both physically and politically. Opportunity is here and perhaps its time for real change, not a repackaged version of what we have proven does not work well enough for humanity. So for now I leave you with that and I welcome your thoughts, criticism and critiques...
P.S. And thank you to Natalie Bellers for her conversation that has served as the spring board for this rant and hopefully future additions, follow-ups, and discussions...
